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A leaked USAir Force document stipulates a drone that happens to capture surveillance images of Americans may store them for a period of 90 days. The paper appears to justify spying on citizens, as long as it is “incidental.”

­The document accepts that the Air Force may not record information non-consensually; however it does state “collected imagery may incidentally include US persons or private property without consent.”

The report, dated April 23 was discovered by Steven Aftergood of the Federation of American Scientists and has been put online.

Data that is accidentally recorded may be stored for a period of 90 days by the Pentagon while it is analyzed to see if the subjects are legitimate targets for state surveillance. The Pentagon may also disseminate this data among other government organizations if it sees fit.

“Even though information may not be collectible, it may be retained for the length of time necessary to transfer it to another DoD entity or government agency to whose function it pertains,” states the document.

In addition, it justifies the gathering of data on domestic targets in certain circumstances. According to the paper, these include surveillance of natural disasters, environmental studies, system testing and training, and counterintelligence and security-related vulnerability assessments.
The document seems to spell bad news for civil liberties, considering the US government passed a bill in February allocating $63 billion to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

If the bill is signed into law it will effectively allow the FAA to fill US skies with drones, a massive 30,000 predicted to be operational in US airspace by 2020.

Over 30 prominent civil rights groups in the US have rounded on the FAA and demanded that it reconsider the legislation and hold a rule-making session to address privacy and safety threats.

“Unfortunately, nothing in the bill would address the very serious privacy issues raised by drone aircraft. This bill would push the nation willy-nilly toward an era of aerial surveillance without any steps to protect the traditional privacy that Americans have always enjoyed and expected,” said the American Civil Liberties Union in response to the legislation.

The bill has sparked fears among Americans that their civil liberties may be under threat, considering that the use of drones in Afghanistan and Pakistan has been extended to carry out attacks on militants.

The commentary in China’s Liberation Army Daily falls short of a formal government statement, but marks the harshest high-level warning yet from Beijing about tensions with the Philippines over disputed seas where both countries have recently sent ships to assert their claims.

This week American and Filipino troops launched a fortnight of annual naval drills amid the stand-off between Beijing and Manila, who have accused each other of encroaching on sovereign seas near the Scarborough Shoal, west of a former U.S. navy base at Subic Bay.

The joint exercises are held in different seas around the Philippines; the leg that takes place in the South China Sea area starts on Monday.

“Anyone with clear eyes saw long ago that behind these drills is reflected a mentality that will lead the South China Sea issue down a fork in the road towards military confrontation and resolution through armed force,” said the commentary in the Chinese paper, which is the chief mouthpiece of the People’s Liberation Army.

“Through this kind of meddling and intervention, the United States will only stir up the entire South China Sea situation towards increasing chaos, and this will inevitably have a massive impact on regional peace and stability.”

Up to now, China has chided the Philippines over the dispute about the uninhabited shoal known in the Philippines as the Panatag Shoal and which China calls Huangyan, about 124 nautical miles off the main Philippine island of Luzon.

China has territorial disputes with the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan in the South China Sea, which could be rich in oil and gas and is spanned by busy shipping lanes.

REGIONAL TENSIONS

Beijing has sought to resolve the disputes one-on-one but there is worry among its neighbors over what some see as growing Chinese assertiveness in staking claims over the seas and various islands, reefs and shoals.

In past patches of regional tension over disputed seas, hawkish Chinese military voices have also emerged, only to be later reined in by the government, and the same could be true this time.

Since late 2010, China has sought to cool tensions with the United States over regional disputes, trade and currency policies, human rights and other contentious issues. Especially with the ruling Chinese Party preoccupied with a leadership succession late in 2012, Beijing has stressed its hopes for steady relations throughout this year.

Nonetheless, experts have said that China remains wary of U.S. military intentions across the Asia-Pacific, especially in the wake of the Obama administration’s vows to “pivot” to the region, reinvigorating diplomatic and security ties with allies.

The Liberation Army Daily commentary echoed that wariness.

“The U.S. strategy of returning to the Asia-Pacific carries the implication of a shift in military focus, and there is no better strategic opening than China’s sovereignty disputes with the Philippines and other countries in the South China Sea,” said the newspaper.

“The United States’ intention of trying to draw more countries into stirring up the situation in the South China Sea is being brandished to the full,” it said.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard began military exercises Saturday in the country’s south, the latest show of force after threats to close the strategic Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for tougher Western sanctions.

Plans for new Iranian naval games in the Persian Gulf off the country’s southern coast have been in the works for weeks. State media announced new maneuvers in southern Iran involving ground forces, but it was not immediately clear whether they were part of the planned naval training missions scheduled for this month or a separate operation.

The latest military maneuvers got under way following stern warnings by Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, about any possible U.S. or Israeli attacks against Tehran’s nuclear facilities. It also comes after Western forces boosted their naval presence in the Gulf led by the American aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln.

Iran officials and lawmakers have repeatedly said that their country would close the Strait of Hormuz at the mouth of the Persian Gulf in retaliation for sanctions that affect Iran’s oil exports. They have as yet made no attempts to disrupt shipping through the waterway, the route for one-fifth of the world’s crude oil, and the U.S. and allies have said they would respond swiftly to any attempts at a blockade.

Last month, Iran’s navy wrapped up 10 days of exercises in the Gulf, but the Revolutionary Guard — which is directly under control of the supreme leader — represents a significantly stronger military force and controls key programs such as missile development. Iranian state media announced the new maneuvers, but gave no further details.

Khamenei, in a speech nationally broadcast on Friday, staked out a hard line after suggestions by Israel that military strikes are an increasing possibility if sanctions fail to rein in the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program.

He pledged to aid any nation or group that challenges Israel and said any military strikes would damage U.S. interests in the Middle East “10 times” more than they would hurt Iran. The comments also may signal that Tehran’s proxy forces — led by Lebanon’s Islamic militant group Hezbollah — could be given the green light to revive attacks on Israel as the showdown between the archfoes intensifies.

The West and its allies fear Iran could use its uranium enrichment labs — which make nuclear fuel — to eventually produce weapons-grade material. Iran insists it only seeks reactors for energy and medical research.

Israel has so far publicly backed the efforts by the U.S. and European Union for tougher sanctions that target Iran’s crucial oil exports. But Israeli leaders have urged even harsher measures and warn that military action remains a clear option despite Western appeals to allow time for the economic pressures and isolation to bear down on Iran.

Iran’s oil minister repeated claims that an EU oil embargo will not cripple Iran’s economy, claiming Saturday that the country already has identified new customers to replace the loss in European sales that accounted for about 18 percent of Iran’s exports.

Rostam Qassemi also reinforced Iran’s warning to Saudi Arabia and other fellow OPEC members against boosting production to offset any potential drop in Tehran’s crude exports, saying the cartel should not be used as a political weapon against a member state.

Although Israel has raised the strongest hints that it is likely to start a military campaign, Khamenei reserved some of his strongest comments for Israel’s key U.S. ally.

“A war itself will damage the U.S. 10 times” more in the region, said Khamenei.

Khamenei claimed Iran, however, could only emerge stronger. “Iran will not withdraw. Then what happens?” asked Khamenei. “In conclusion, the West’s hegemony and threats will be discredited” in the Middle East. “The hegemony of Iran will be promoted. In fact, this will be in our service.”

On Thursday, Israel’s defense minister, Ehud Barak, suggested the world is increasingly ready to consider a military strike if sanctions fail. The head of the country’s strategic affairs ministry, Vice Premier Moshe Yaalon, also suggested Iran’s main military installations are still vulnerable to airstrikes — even as Iran starts up a new uranium enrichment facility deep in a mountainside bunker south of Tehran.

Yaalon’s comments appear to reinforce earlier suggestions by other Israel officials that the window for a possible attack is closing and Israel would need to strike by summer to inflict significant setbacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity under standing guidelines.

At Ramstein Air Base in Germany, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said sanctions remain the best approach to pressure Iran. But he told U.S. airmen Friday that Washington keeps “all options on the table and would be prepared to respond if we have to.”

Khamenei answered by repeating Iran’s declarations that it will never roll back its nuclear program, which he had earlier said was now part of the country’s “identity” and a cornerstone of its technological endeavors. On Friday, Iran said it successfully sent a small satellite into orbit in the third such launch in recent years, state media reported.

“From now on, in any place, if any nation or any group confronts the Zionist regime, we will endorse and we will help. We have no fear expressing this,” said Khamenei, using the phrase widely used by Iran’s leader to describe Israel.

CAMAC Energy Inc. has finished completion operations on the Oyo-8 well, located offshore Nigeria, and is now ready to start oil production. Oyo-8 is hooked up to the Bumi Armada-owned FPSO Armada Perdana. However, CAMAC has been informed by Bumi that the FPSO is not ready to receive oil production from the well due to […]

UK-based offshore drilling contractor Ensco has from oil company BP received a notice of early termination for ENSCO DS-4, a drilling rig operating in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. The estimated effective date of the contract termination is July 2015 based on the projected completion of the customer’s current well program. Under the terms of […]

Chevron Corporation has confirmed today that George L. Kirkland, vice chairman and executive vice president, Upstream, will retire from the company, effective June 15. He will be succeeded by James W. (Jay) Johnson, as executive vice president, Upstream, effective June 16. “George’s business acumen and deep operational knowledge of our industry have helped c […]

Italian oil and gas company Eni, following its participation in the competitive International Bid Round launched by the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, signed two Production Sharing Contracts (PSC) for offshore blocks MD-02 and MD-04. The contracts were signed in Nay Pyi Taw, in the presence of the country’s Energy Minister. The Joint Venture […]

Azonto Petroleum has said that its board is going through a review of “a range of strategic options for the Company to preserve shareholder value and reduce operating costs.” In a statement issued today, the oil & gas company focused on West Africa, said that it is contemplating a sale of its assets and/or a sale […]

Maersk Oil has informed that production has started from the new unmanned platform Tyra Southeast-B, located in the Danish North Sea. According to Maersk, the platform is expected to add reserves of 50 million barrels of oil equivalent (BOE) over the next 30 years to Danish production. “The Tyra Southeast extension is a great example […]

MacGregor has appointed Høye G. Høyesen (49) as Vice President, Offshore Mooring and Loading Division starting as of April 1, 2015. MacGregor reorganised into seven operative divisions in the beginning of 2015 to improve customer focus. Offshore Mooring and Loading Division drives the development of Systems and Equipment for Offshore Floating Units. Høyesen […]

Wood Group has been awarded a five year, multi-million contract by Total, which includes the option for two, one year extensions. Under the contract Wood Group PSN (WGPSN) will deliver engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning services to four offshore assets and two onshore facilities in the UK continental shelf (UKCS). The contract, effectiv […]

VAALCO Energy, Inc. has announced that the post-salt Kindele-1 well, its first exploration well on Block 5 offshore Angola, was drilled to a total vertical depth of approximately 1,829 meters. VAALCO started drilling Kindele-1 well on March 2, 2015 with Celtic Sea semi-submersible drilling rig. According to the company, the objective reservoir, the Mucanzo […]

MacArtney Group will launch the new NEXUS MK VII multiplexer at the Ocean Business exhibition. Also MacArtney will display other developments, such as the LUXUS wide angle LED, and stand visitors... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

After reorganization into seven operative divisions in the beginning of 2015, MacGregor has appointed Høye G. Høyesen (49) as Vice President, Offshore Mooring and Loading Division starting 1st of... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

On behalf of the French Defence Procurement Agency (DGA) in France and UK MOD’s Defence Equipment & Support organisation, OCCAR has awarded the Maritime Mine Counter Measures (MMCM) contract to... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

BW Offshore, a provider of floating production services to the oil and gas industry, has received a notice of termination for the FPSO BW Athena contract from Ithaca Energy. Namely, BW Offshore and... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Cameron announced that Justin Rounce has assumed the newly created position of Vice President, Marketing and Chief Technology Officer (CTO), effective March 23, 2015. In his new role Rounce is... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Subsea 7 has declared their option to extend the contract for the construction vessel (CSV) “Normand Seven” with 1 year from September 2015. This is the first of a total of five yearly... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Mariners are advised that over the Easter weekend (4th-5th April 2015) the vessel Stril Explorer is due to arrive at the Gwynt y Môr windfarm to remove the 3 FLIDAR moorings on the seabed. The 76.4... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Baker Consultants Marine Limited has been appointed by GeoSea to provide underwater noise and marine mammal monitoring and mitigation during the construction phase of the Gode Wind 1 and 2 offshore... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

The ship Chioggia and the Operational Divers Group (GOS) from the Comsubin performed the mine clearing operations in the Mediterranean Sea. The GOS, with a sophisticated equipment on board, plumbed... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Lancashire based EDS is marking the completion of a £10 million contract for cable termination work at the world’s second largest operating offshore wind farm, with an exemplary health and safety... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Statoil’s active leases in the Gulf of Mexico

Most people who get new jobs aren't even looking new jobs. That's according a new research paper by Carlos Carrillo-Tudela, Bart Hobijn, Patryk Perkowski, and Ludo Visschers, published by the San Francisco Fed. The results of their study show that "more than three-quarters of workers who switched employers did not report active job search in t […]

Facebook dropped $19 billion on WhatsApp, Snapchat is valued at $15 billion, and even the anonymous messaging app Yik Yak, despite being a little over a year old, is already valued between $300 million and $400 million. Messaging apps are big business, and here’s why. Based on new data from mobile analytics firm Flurry charted for us by BI Intelligence, mess […]

If you didn't have enough reasons to see the next "Avengers" movie, here's one more: the second trailer for "Star Wars: Episode VII" will play in front of the anticipated sequel. Both /film and Collider are reporting the second trailer for "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" will be attached to the "Avengers: Age of Ul […]

Come join our team! We're looking for an Assistant Managing Editor to help build and manage our fast-growing newsroom. This person should have some experience recruiting, and has preferably worked in journalism as a reporter or editor and is looking for a new and expanded role. The ideal candidate is: -Obsessed with staying organized and loves juggling […]

The contract between "Big Five" book publisher HarperCollins and Amazon is about to expire and HarperCollins is refusing to sign an agreement with the new terms that Amazon is asking, a source with knowledge of the situation tells Business Insider. The contract presented to HarperCollins was the same contract recently signed by Simon & Schuste […]

The peril of not being ready to appear in major stores is a problem KIND knows all about. Around 2007, one Wal-Mart buyer gave us a chance. She was a KIND consumer herself and believed in our brand. She wanted us to succeed. Wal-Mart is a prize account for consumer brands, but it’s a challenging customer for a fledgling start-up to have, because it has world […]

Ever stared up at the sky on a clear night and felt suddenly small beneath the stars? Hiked up a mountain and marveled at the immensity of the vast beauty below? That inexplicable sense of wonder, it turns out, is actually good for you. A handful of recent studies have found that when people experience a sense of awe, they're generally more likely to fe […]

Turin (Italy) (AFP) - Tottenham winger Andros Townsend came off the bench to steal the limelight from club-mate Harry Kane with a late leveller in a 1-1 draw against Italy in Turin on Tuesday.England manager Roy Hodgson was forced to hand Spurs sensation Kane his full debut alongside Wayne Rooney due to injuries to both Daniel Sturridge and Danny Welbeck.But […]

Jameis Winston, the presumed No. 1 pick in the upcoming NFL Draft, held his Pro Day in front of NFL scouts on Tuesday. The initial reaction from many was that it could have gone better. Todd McShay of ESPN said he was "underwhelmed" by Winston's performance, which included 102 passes. Charles Robinson of Yahoo! Sports called it an "OK per […]

It would appear de-dollarization among America's "allies" is accelerating... As of 6 p.m. Tuesday, a total of 46 countries had applied to be founding members of #AIIB. Founding membership will be finalized on April 15 — People's Daily,China (@PDChina) March 31, 2015 Most of the 46 nations are here... And while Washington has proclaimed […]

Shortly after the US equity mnarkets closed, headlines crossed from Switzerland seemingly confirming "no deal" with Iran...P5+1 MINISTERS PLAN TO LEAVE LAUSANNE IN MORNING but that was quickly watered down with a warning that Iran has until dawn to agree to the deal. This sent WTI up modestly and then API Crude inventories, which were expected to r […]

If you love Trannies, here's a message for you this quarter... First let's get this out of the way... What an utter farce today was with markets breaking everywhere to stick save VIX ETFs rampant manipulation of the indices... After open, @NASDAQ stopped quoting in A-Z for between 6-8 minutes. Here is in $AAPL: between 09:31-09:37 ET pic.twitter.co […]

1987 Or 2015? "They are not real buyers and sellers... these are computers that drive the markets down extremely fast..." "A crash is coming..." "A correction will prompt rate cuts which will ensure The Bull Market is not over..." * * * It's never different this time... The Friday night before Black Monday 1987... […]

Two months ago, when looking at the most recent physical gold withdrawal numbers reported by the Fed, we observed something peculiar: between the publicly reported surprise redemption by the Netherlands (122 tons) and the just as surprise redemption by the Bundesbank (85 tons), at least 207 tons of gold should have vacated the NY Fed's gold vault. Inste […]

Stranger things have happened... Remember the stop-on-a-dime 666 lows of the S&P... Well it's been 7.5 years again... and we have extended an almost-perfect Fibonnaci 61.8% off the last high-to-low swing... Charts: Bloomberg h/t Brad Wishak

With Decisive Storm airstrikes showing no signs of abating, and with some reports suggesting that as many as 40 people were killed when bombs struck a refugee camp near Haradh, many suspect the violence in Yemen is set to escalate meaningfully in the days and weeks ahead with Saudi Arabia preparing to launch a ground invasion in the expanding effort to debil […]

Days after Zero Hedge broke the news that CNBC had just suffered its worst ever ratings year in 2014... ... we weren't at all surprised to read in the WSJ that "CNBC will no longer rely on TV ratings specialist Nielsen to measure its daytime audience, beginning later this year. Instead, it has retained marketing and research firm Cogent Reports f […]

......Submitted and posted with permission by Gary Christenson - The Deviant Investor (Independently Written) Which silver? Paper silver or real silver? Silver prices are largely set on the COMEX futures – paper silver. A company can post the margin and sell short thousands of contracts with no actual metal available thereby creating artificial supply. […]

It is important to keep track of the war on terror and its damages. A big war creates immense antipathy among those subject to its destruction ... Trade suffers; blowback occurs. And for the US, such a war can be economically draining far beyond what is now being reported. This is not really taken into account in the economic analyses purveyed across the air […]

A big mainstream media meme is that when economic conditions worsen, people respond by seeking out Hitler-esque leaders who will express the frustration of the "people" via genocide, incipient warfare and the creation of a police state. Regardless of whether this has been true in the past, we have long predicted that the Internet would change the w […]

Discrimination has become a "dirty word." It has come to carry the "politically incorrect" connotation of prejudice, hatefulness, racism, and cruel intolerance towards others in society. There is only one problem: Which one of us does not discriminate? Indeed, everything we do reflects discriminating choices and decisions. The issue of di […]

Predictably, the death of Lee Kuan Yew has generated many positive comments in the mainstream media about his "leadership" of Singapore. The main thrust of the comments has to do with his ability to run an authoritarian regime that produced a kind of capitalist prosperity. This is an all-too-familiar meme, one often voiced by Western leaders. The i […]

Leaders in high places around the world are making it clear that the drug war is in a sense "over" – and all that is left to do is wind it down. Of course, if you ask the millions who have suffered from the drug war and their families, the "war" is an all-too-literal presence. For them, there is no winding down, or not yet. But Kofi Anan […]